Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 19th September

-Explosion rocks Pakistani’s ex Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s convoy

-Burma’s leaders pledge new constitution

-North Korea to face upcoming famine

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At least twenty people are reported killed and sixty wounded after two bombs were detonated amidst a huge welcoming party for returning Pakistani ex-PM Benazir Bhutto.

Mrs Bhutto was being driven in a convoy through crowds hundreds of thousands strong, to a rally to mark her homecoming after eight years in exile.

Mrs Bhutto was not thought to be among the casualties.

Several Islamist groups including pro-Taleban militants have made threats against Mrs Bhutto.

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Burma’s state media have reported that the country’s military rulers are setting up a committee to draft a new constitution, a gesture the ruling Generals say is the start of their “roadmap” to democracy.

The move, which comes after 14 years of talks of a constitutional convention, has been welcomed by some, but critics say it is just a ruse to allow the generals to hold on to power.

The government has appointed 54 officials to sit on the committee to draft the constitution. The discussions were boycotted by the opposition, who are also unrepresented on the new committee.

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A South Korean economic committee has reported that destitute North Korea will likely be pushed into famine due to devastating floods this year that wiped out crops and ruined farm land.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute study said North Korea will run about 1.4 million tonnes short of the food needed to feed its people and estimated damage to its farming sector at more than $275 million.

Famine in the late 1990s brought about by flooding, drought and years of mismanagement in the farm sector killed as many as 10 percent of the North’s 22 million people, according to some estimates.

North Korea, which suffers from chronic food shortages, usually relies on handouts from neighbours South Korea and China to make up its food deficit and it receives food aid from international agencies such as the U.N. World Food Programme.

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Residents near an Indonesian volcano have ignored orders to move, despite warnings of an imminent eruption.

Over one hundred thousand residents were ordered to evacuate part of the island of Java amidst fears Mount Kelud would erupt.

First warnings were issues last Tuesday and the delay in activity has been interpreted by some residents as an indication that there will be no eruption, although experts agree that the delay could make the eruption more violent when it finally occurs.

Mount Kelud last erupted in 1990, killing dozens of people.

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A group of twelve evicted residents of Wuhan City, in China’s Hubei Province, were detained after submitting their petition letters to the 17th Party Congress in Beijing.

The Congress, which had previously provided discontented citizens with an opportunity to voice their concerns and be heard, has this year turned its back on those who came to appeal.

The twelve protestors, who were intercepted by Wuhan Liaison Office in Beijing and detained at the local “610 Office” where Falun Gong practitioners are being held for ‘transformation’, are another example of the quieting of China’s minority as the country obstinately moves forward to next years Olympic Games.

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Speaking during his annual televised question and answer session with the Russian public, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed the country will have a new president next year.

In an answer to questions about the political future of the country – he restated his intention to abide by the constitution and step down when his second term expires in March.

Earlier this month he announced he would run for a spot in the nation’s Parliament with the leading political party United Russia instead.

A leading candidate to take over the presidency is yet to emerge.

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Now for an update on the Human Rights Torch Relay, which has just arrived in Sweden, where it will stop at several cities including Oslo and Stockholm.

The torch relay, which lit its first flame in Athens on August 9, is raising worldwide awareness of human rights issues in China, bringing with it the message that “human rights and crimes against humanity cannot co-exist in China.”

As part of World Human Rights Torch Awareness Week from October 21-28, several cities will host a variety of events aimed at exposing the Chinese regime’s human rights violations.

As it proceeds, the torch will travel to more than 150 cities on five continents.

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